Late Autumn (1960)
"Akibiyori" (original title)

A widow tries to marry off her daughter with the help of her late husband's three friends.

Director:

Yasujirô Ozu

Writers:

Ton Satomi (novel), Kôgo Noda (screenplay),

Stars:

Setsuko Hara, Yôko Tsukasa, Mariko Okada

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Setsuko Hara	...	Akiko Miwa
Yôko Tsukasa	...	Ayako Miwa
Mariko Okada	...	Yukiko Sasaki
Keiji Sada	...	Shotaru Goto
Miyuki Kuwano	...	Michiko
Shin'ichirô Mikami	...	Koichi
Shin Saburi	...	Soichi Mamiya
Chishû Ryû	...	Shukichi Miwa
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Shuzo Taguchi
Kuniko Miyake	...	Nobuko
Sadako Sawamura	...	Fumiko
Ryûji Kita	...	Seiichiro Hirayama
Fumio Watanabe	...	Tsuneo Sugiyama
Ayako Senno	...	Shigeko Takamatsu
Yuriko Tashiro	...	Yoko

Storyline

A widow tries to marry off her daughter with the help of her late husband's three friends.

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Plot Keywords:

widow | friend | pipe | misunderstood | mix up | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

November 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Late Autumn

Filming Locations:

Tokyo Tower, Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shôchiku Eiga

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"1st Movement"
from "Piano Sonata No.11 A Major, K.331"
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
At the scene of a dressmaking school

User Reviews

Approachable Ozu masterpiece

Ozu's common themes of ageing, filial ties and modernisation are as present here as in many other of his films. But in this film, as well as the melancholy and gentleness we are accustomed to, there are large doses of comedy which makes this film far more accessible for the uninitiated.

The story centres around a widow (Setsuko Hara) and her daughter (Yoko Tsukasa). The daughter doesn't want to get married because she wants to care for her mother, whereas the mother wants her daughter to marry even though she realises she'll be left alone. So far everything is extremely familiar. Except that in this case the dead husband's friends get involved, trying to find suitors for both mother and daughter, thus creating comical situations, causing family tensions, and finally necessitating for the daughter's friend to step in and sort out the mess.

All in all highly recommended for anyone who wishes to try out this highly prestigious director, and a strong reminder for fans of why we love him so much.